Parlak's resolution? 'End this madness'

Despite threat of deportation, the Harbert restaurant owner keeps faith in United States.

Despite threat of deportation, the Harbert restaurant owner keeps faith in United States.

January 01, 2006|LOU MUMFORD Tribune Staff Writer

HARBERT -- Spending more time with his 8-year-old daughter, Livia Gazzolo, and fixing up his restaurant on Red Arrow Highway are among Ibrahim Parlak's New Year's resolutions. But first and foremost is the 43-year-old Kurdish immigrant's desire to remain in the United States. "I hope I can get my life back and put an end to this madness,'' he said. As most area residents know, "this madness'' is the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's desire to deport Parlak to Turkey, where he once was tortured during a 16-month prison term on a separatist charge. An immigration judge already has ordered him deported, but Parlak thus far has managed to stay put. Not that it has been easy. Portrayed as a national security threat, the owner of Harbert's Cafe Gulistan spent 10 months in the Calhoun County Jail in Battle Creek before U.S. District Court Judge Avern Cohn, on May 20, freed him on $50,000 bond. Perhaps tellingly, Cohn praised Parlak as "a model immigrant'' and questioned the motives of the federal government. A homecoming party at the restaurant June 3 attracted about 150 supporters. Since then, Parlak has had both setbacks and mini-victories, from the Board of Immigration Appeals' rejection of his appeal of his deportation order to intervention by U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, and U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. Last month, Upton and Levin introduced bills that, if passed, will grant Parlak permanent residency, rendering moot his deportation order. Parlak agreed the Senate bill will buy him time, but Martin Dzuris, a longtime friend and supporter of Parlak, said it doesn't mean he won't be detained should the federal government successfully appeal the order that resulted in Parlak's release. Parlak and Dzuris complained Thursday about the mixed signals they said they've received from the federal government and DHS officials. In Detroit, where Parlak is required to report every two weeks, Parlak said a DHS representative told him he'd do what he could to accommodate Parlak's schedule because he knows Parlak isn't a flight risk. But Parlak said that meeting was followed by a call from a government attorney in Washington, D.C., warning him that the government is keeping all its options, including detention, on the table. Dzuris said there's a reason officials in Detroit and Washington aren't on the same page. "I think the people in Detroit feel they made a mistake (identifying Parlak as a security threat). But, in Washington, they won't let go. They don't care about Ibrahim Parlak,'' he said. Parlak agreed. "They want to save face, but they have to realize they're ruining my family,'' he said. Granted asylum in 1992, Parlak by all reports has led an exemplary life in the United States. But in April 2002, U.S. immigration officials alleged he had lied about his past conviction in Turkey and his links to the former Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK. Parlak argued any misinformation on his 1992 Green Card application was nothing more than an honest mistake. Also, he pointed out the PKK, now known as the KONGRA-GEL, wasn't classified as a terrorist organization until 1997. Parlak also said that while he was "in the area'' of a 1988 firefight on the Syrian-Turkey border in which two Turkish soldiers were killed, he had nothing to do with their deaths. Parlak said Judge Elizabeth Hacker's deportation order, handed down a year ago Thursday, looms large in his mind. Although a new appeal has been filed, there's no guarantee it'll be any more successful than the appeal recently denied by the Board of Immigration Appeals. Even projects as simple as renovation of Parlak's restaurant have given way to the deportation order. Parlak is adding new restrooms and a new kitchen, but he said the state Liquor Control Commission won't approve a permit to use the new facilities until his case has been resolved. "Initially, they said I could go ahead. ... Now, they say I misled them,'' he said. Surprisingly, Parlak said he still has faith in the United States and its principles. "In Turkey, I didn't have the opportunity to raise my voice. Either I had to become like them ... or I could come to the U.S. So I came to the U.S.,'' he said. "But with everything that has happened, it gives me a great deal of hope and belief that the system is working, and I can fight my fight to the end. That's the biggest difference here.'' Staff writer Lou Mumford: lmumford@sbtinfo.com (269) 687-7002